200 rotting fish caught in ghost net on Lake Nipissing

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NORTH BAY, Ont. -- A ghost net with about 200 bloated and rotting fish trapped in it was discovered by several boaters and fishermen floating on Lake Nipissing.

Jolanta Kowalski, with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), told QMI Agency staff are aware of the unmarked net found Saturday between the government dock and Manitou Islands and are investigating.

She said this isn't the first time the public has come across a net floating in Lake Nipissing.

"MNR staff have located and pulled drifting nets in the past," Kowalski said Monday.

"If an untagged or unmarked net is discovered, the public is asked not to remove, or otherwise tamper with it, but rather to note the location of the net and report it to the ministry...”

News spread quickly of the discovery through social media platforms.

A picture was taken of the large net near the water's surface with white, bloating fish entangled in it.

Clint Couchie, manager of natural resources for Nipissing First Nation, said nets registered with Nipissing First Nation fishermen are equipped with either a numbered white or yellow tag. Fishermen who net are required to report and fill out catch forms.

"Fishermen lose their nets sometimes, but we don't just leave them floating in the lake. We help them find them," Couchie said Monday.

He said the public is being asked not to touch the nets and definitely don't try pulling them up.

"When Nipissing First Nation nets are properly anchored to the bottom you will see a dead-head jog on top of the water," Couchie said, adding not all nets belong to Nipissing First Nation fishermen.